Latest news with #supportGroup
BBC News
05-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Mum sets up support group for home-schooled children
A mum who chose to home-school her son because "his needs weren't met" in mainstream education has set up a support group for others in the same Vallis' eldest son, who is now 15, has been educated at home since age 11 and she has also taught one of her younger sons at home on a flexible basis alongside Vallis, who used to work as a teaching assistant, and her husband decided to start a support group for parents who home-school called the Edventure Project."We've got a lot of parents who have kids with unmet needs in the group. You need to feel well to be able to have the confidence to learn," she said. Speaking about her eldest son, Ms Vallis said: "We had trauma in his primary school years and I didn't want that continuing. Enough was enough. I could see classroom learning for him was not the way."He's a very practical person. He also doesn't do well with people, he much prefers dogs or older people. He finds it tricky socialising."He's not one of those people who would ever value Macbeth. I tried to expose him to different types of literature and explain why, but that was my passion. His thing was the Screwfix catalogue."Ms Vallis, who lives in Yate, added that her son had learned skills in plumbing, photography, carpentry and fixing bikes. She decided to launch the Edventure Project to support other parents who felt their children may be better off being home-schooled and because of a shortage of SEND project is a hub for parents and children who are home-schooled to carry out activities, workshops and socialise together."Some of our young people aren't made to be sitting in desks, it's not conducive to who they are," said Ms November, the government said it planned to create a register of all children not in school as part of its Children's Wellbeing Bill.A DfE spokesperson said at the time: "Our mission is to break down the barriers to opportunity, so every pupil has the best life chances."That includes making sure every child is receiving a suitable education for their age, ability, aptitude, and any special educational needs whether they are in school or at home."
Al Arabiya
26-06-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
A group of Brazilian women battling cancer find new hope thanks to Va'a canoeing
When breast cancer turned her life upside down, Anna Lucia Amorim, a 63-year-old Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro state, fell into a deep depression, sometimes struggling to get out of bed. But everything changed, she said, after she started practicing Vaa canoeing in Niteroi, a city facing Rio across Guanabara Bay, with other women who have battled cancer or were undergoing treatment. 'Every time you put the paddle in the water, it's like a new life,' she told The Associated Press on Thursday. 'When you are there, you forget everything. You only see the sea and the sky.' Amorim is part of Vaa Roses, a group of cancer patients and survivors between the ages of 52 and 70 who partake in local and national competitions of Vaa canoeing. Originating in the Pacific region, Vaa canoes – which traditionally have outriggers and can be single or double-hull – are now popular worldwide. In Niteroi, the Vaa Roses train twice weekly just after 7 a.m., departing from the sheltered Charitas Beach surrounded by harbors and sloping mountains from which one can spot the famed Christ the Redeemer statue. Guanabara Bay has a reputation for being polluted by garbage and sewage, but members of the Vaa Roses say they regularly see turtles, rays, and other fish – even dolphins. 'You wouldn't think that Guanabara Bay has so much life,' said Flavia Bichara, a 52-year-old lawyer who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. She said the hope of spotting a turtle and watching the sun rise gives her ample motivation to get out of bed early. 'The sunrise for us symbolizes coming back to life,' she said. Polynesian canoeing and water sports in general have become increasingly popular in Niteroi over the last few years, said Isabel Swan, the municipality's deputy mayor, who has an Olympic bronze medal in sailing. The number of Polynesian canoeing clubs in the area has jumped from five to around 40 in the last decade. 'This boom occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic because people can practice water sports while complying with social distancing rules,' she said. In August, Niteroi will host the Vaa long distance world championship in which around a thousand athletes from 30 countries will compete. And alongside Rio, the city is a candidate to host the 2031 Pan American Games. Estella Tourl, 68, was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. As well as the stunning setting, she says she loves the social aspect of the activity. 'We're in nature, we exercise, and we talk. Afterward, everyone sits together, we have coffee and laugh. It's stimulating – we want to live,' Tourl said.
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The Midults: I'm an alcoholic worried about going on holiday with boozy friends
Dear A&E, I am in my early 30s and have just given up drinking. It's been a bumpy road, and it all finally came to a dangerous head and I had to admit that I'm an alcoholic. I haven't had a drink for two months now and I am slowly piecing my life back together and going to AA meetings. A group of my old friends have invited me on holiday. It's a mixed bag of people who still drink huge amounts and those who have calmed down. I have said yes, but I am really scared. How will I cope? – Petrified Dear Petrified, Of course you are petrified – you are like a fawn in the forest: all wobbly on your feet, trying to negotiate your brave, new existence without a crutch or a prop. So right off the bat, dear Petrified, we think you could slow everything right down and say a hard no to this holiday. Long story short? Why would you imperil your sobriety? Why do we feel this so strongly? Let us count the ways: first, you may still be feeling as though you have failed. Certainly, hitting that rock bottom – whatever it looked like – will not have felt good. Perhaps you are sitting there, wondering, 'Why can't I be like everyone else: out for a couple of glasses of Whispering Angel and then tucked up safely at home, all sensible and not broken by a glass or bottle too many?' Perhaps every waking moment feels like you are being stabbed with a million shards of shame, and you are desperate for a miracle, to be free from all the feelings that have circled back viciously now that you have stopped numbing them. And then… A holiday invitation lands. What could be more 'normal' than a vacation with friends? That's what we all did in our early 30s, right? Book a group holiday, lie by a pool, pretend to read books, gossip and smoke cigarettes and get stuck into the rosé. Nothing to see here. Or is there? In every fun and sun gang, there will be those who think airport alcohol doesn't count (like airport money and airport calories) and start with a cheeky pint at 9am Luton time. Even the most sensible of drinkers are suddenly struck with a case of the 'Why nots?' at 11am on a holiday. No judgement, but at this point in your recovery, you don't need to put your rosé-resistance to the test. You are being tested enough. Even though it's highly likely that your friends will want to support you, they can only be mindful up to a point. Holidays are precious; they have such resonance. A bad holiday can really break a person so they will be leaning hard into their good time. Your friends have not signed up for temperance, they have signed up for sunburn and carelessness. You might find yourself overwhelmed by that fizzing holiday feeling; full of heat and temptation. Apart from feeling raw, you may also be experiencing a sense of alienation from your life. You are already, a few months in, understanding that you are not going to be able to just slot back in exactly as you were. Lay those feelings out under the Tuscan sun and you may feel the burn even more acutely. So, perhaps sit this one out. Invest in yourself, for the moment: Keep going to meetings; talk to your fellow sobriety voyagers and avoid the Instagram accounts of those friends while they are away. You will hear about their adventures soon enough. By the way, we can also reassure you that you are reaching the pinch point when everyone starts to calm down. There is about to be a flood of marriages, babies, promotions, complications, that means your peer group will also begin to avoid unnecessary hangovers. The group zeitgeist will drift in your favour and, suddenly, walking in the park with an oat-milk matcha with you will seem like the sweetest spot. You might feel a little lonely now, but hang on in there because this too shall pass. No need to roll the dice. And, as we said, you may be feeling as though you have somehow failed at something because alcohol seems to untether you and you can't control it. Emilie certainly felt that when she stopped drinking at 31. She felt that, because she couldn't 'handle' her booze, she was a bit pathetic; that she didn't deserve to be an adult, unlike all her friends who seemed able to have it all. But, dear Petrified, you absolutely haven't failed. You are winning. Instead of bumping along the at the bottom of a wine glass, feeling permanently bruised and exhausted, you have chosen to take a stand against the anxiety and the alcoholism and the painful past. Congratulations – you have decided to take the power back, to face everything and recover. You are at the beginning of a beautiful journey. Just not the one you expected. And that, dear girl, is life.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
LGBTQ+ parents face trauma, says Eastbourne mother
Parents from the LGBTQ+ community face "trauma and discrimination," a mother from Sussex has said. Libby King started Bourne this Way five years ago in her home town of Eastbourne as a support group to provide a non-judgmental space for LGBTQ+ parents, their children, as well as prospective parents.A recent survey found more than half (56%) of LGBTQ+ parents face negative comments about their King said people assume "it has to be Mummy and Daddy and a man and a woman, and you know in this day and age, it doesn't, and it isn't." Ms King said the group regularly meet in Eastbourne "with our t-shirts on in parks, beaches, farms, etcetera".She added: "We are part of the community and we do have children."She said LGBTQ+ parents go through similar challenges to other families but "we probably face a lot more trauma and discrimination" than heterosexual couples. Bourne This Way aims to bring people together within the community, to "offer support, share advice and promote wellbeing for those wishing to embark on starting a family".It also offers a space for individuals and couples who have children already and would like to spend time with people who have shared similar experiences. If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this story, please contact the BBC Action Line. Research by the charity Just Like Us, found 42% of children from LGBTQ+ families had experienced remarks about their said heterosexual, nuclear families are often still seen as the default with a third of all LGBTQ+ parents saying their school refers to families as "mums and dads" by Ingold from the charity said: "It's 2025 and there are no longer just mums and dads. There are all sorts of different families out there" "If we want to build a kinder, more inclusive society, that means building one in which LGBT families are just as accepted as everyone else."
Washington Post
15-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Black dads go public with support for their kids with autism -- and each other
ATLANTA — When Tyrone Green's youngest son was diagnosed with autism , his wife was immediately ready to get the 3-year-old the support he needed. But Green was stuck: He had questions about his son's future and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness — like no one, not his wife, not his friends, understood his experience. ' ... (M)y wife couldn't understand what I was going through as a Black father, all these hopes and dreams I had for my kid,' said Green, who lives in Michigan. 'She didn't feel the same way.' In 2021, he joined a Black fathers' support group and met a few other dads eager to discuss their unique challenges. They started their own podcast in 2023 called AutisHIM, a place where Black dads talk about the wins and setbacks of having autistic children. Green is among a growing number of Black fathers of autistic children looking to be more visible in the national autism conversation through podcasts, nonprofits and summits that specifically address their experience. These men say that their hope is not only to be considered more than sidekicks to mothers of the children, but also to help other Black dads accept autism diagnoses and not prolong getting kids the help that they need. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects how people communicate, process information and interact with the world around them. Federal data shows that since 2020, Black children have had a higher prevalence of autism spectrum disorder than white children — a change experts credit mostly to better awareness of autism in underserved communities. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced plans to have the federal government do a broad study for the causes of autism, even though it's been looked at by researchers for decades. He has said autism is a 'tragedy' that 'destroys families' and that some people with autism will never hold a job, pay taxes or go on dates. But many people with autism live successful, socially rich and independent lives , which makes a narrative like Kennedy's dangerous, said Michael Hannon, a counseling professor at Montclair State University who studies the social and emotional aspects of autism on Black fatherhood. It 'can literally diminish hope for any father or father figure or family,' Hannon said of Kennedy's framing of autism. But affinity groups for Black men who have kids with autism are a successful way to get the dads to engage with their emotions, Hannon said. 'The challenge is convincing people to (talk openly and honestly), because the practice of doing that is rare, not just among Black men, but people in general,' he said, adding that people might think it will reflect on their ability to parent. Evan Polk said a big part of navigating his 13-year-old daughter's diagnosis was learning to sit with emotions that weren't simply 'happy and mad.' In the beginning, he was very protective. 'I became a helicopter dad,' said Polk, who started AuSome Kicks, an art therapy nonprofit for autistic children near Philadelphia earlier this year. 'I didn't want nobody or nothing to harm her whatsoever. When I found out she was autistic, she'd be outside with knee pads and elbow pads looking crazy.' He said he later taught his family to be more patient with his daughter, as opposed to traditional parenting styles of being firm and hoping that she would fall in line. Dr. Berry Pierre said he initially was on the sidelines of his autistic daughter's support team as his wife, Maria Davis-Pierre, did the bulk of advocating. The Florida couple founded Autism in Black and for the first five years, he said the organization didn't specifically tailor messaging to Black dads. 'Whether it be in schools, the (individual education plan) meetings, the mothers were just there.' Pierre said. 'But as we started to kind of try to go deeper and figure out 'Alright, what's going on? Where are the guys?' we started to realize that a lot of them will be there.' Many Black dads, Pierre found out, were equally involved as the moms, and Pierre wanted to get more of them talking publicly about autism. 'The dads are there, but we know the general public doesn't realize that yet,' Pierre said. 'So we try to serve as this engine to shine a light on what's really happening. The dads are there, they're attentive. And even with this diagnosis, they're going even harder.' Some dads, like Nicholas Love in North Carolina, said they first hesitated to openly share their journey of raising their kids with autism in fear that people may not understand. 'I was very guarded for a while in talking about my children both being on the spectrum,' said Love, who is CEO of the marketing agency The Kulur Group. 'Even in how you take pictures that you upload on social media, being cognizant and thinking about, 'Well is this a picture that looks, dare I say, the perception of what normal looks like?'' Now, he's an open book about them, is understanding when employees need a little extra time for urgent family needs and has advocated that men receive more paid leave so they will have time to be more involved with their kids. 'I got to a point where it's like, 'OK, this is my reality … I need to do my part in normalizing this,' Love said. Green said that while his podcast and platforms like Autism in Black make it easier for Black fathers to share their stories of their kids' wins and losses, he'd like to see 'more support groups out there, more podcasts, more conversations.' 'I see a lot of Black women doing their thing and I highly appreciate that, but I think there definitely needs to be more conversations surrounding (Black fatherhood and autism) because, for myself, I'm a Black man,' Green said. 'I have a Black family, but this is never really the topic of discussion.' ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
